ABSTRACT
Carbon is the predominant constituent of all life forms. The structure, energetics, and functioning of life forms depend on the linkage of carbon with other major elements such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. The biogeochemical cycle of carbon involves complex interactions between and within organic and inorganic carbon reservoirs. Organic carbon and inorganic carbon are the two major forms present in soil–water–plant components of wetland ecosystems. The carbon cycle in this system can be depicted as a storage of carbon in major reservoirs, which serve as either a source or a sink, and the flows between reservoirs. Net primary productivity of wetland ecosystems is higher than that of many terrestrial ecosystems and is approximately of the same order of magnitude as that of tropical rainforests. Heterotrophic microflora represent transformers of organic carbon back to inorganic carbon through catabolic activities.
